immunity

lymph

lymph nodes

pea-sized organs filled with white blood cells that filter out foreign materials from the lymph; nodes that are actively fighting an infection often swell, producing swollen glands that can be felt to aid in a diagnosis

Polycythemia

Splenomegaly

Toxemia

AIDS

acronym for acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which disables the immune response by destroying mainly helper T cells (needed for activation of B cells); the loss of immune function allows opportunistic infections to proliferate and eventually cause death

Allergy

response to an allergen, which is an antigen that produces a hypersensitivity reaction that includes immediate inflammation but does not elicit other immune responses; allergies are of many types, the most common of which are allergic rhinitis (hay fever), which affects mucous membranes of the nasal cavity and throat, and allergic dermatitis, which affects the skin where it has made contact with the allergen

Aplastic

Autoimmune disorder

any one of several diseases that are caused by a person's own immune response attacking otherwise healthy tissues; diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and multiple sclerosis

Diphtheria

Dyscrasia

Erythroblastosis fetalis

blood disorder that results from incompatibility between a fetus with Rh positive blood and its mother with Rh negative blood; causes the destruction of fetal red blood cells and requires blood transfusion to save the fetus; also known as Rh mismatch or hemolytic disease of newborn

Inflammation

Influenza

viral disease characterized by a temporary inflammation of mucous membranes and fever; commonly called "the flu," the virus is highly contagious and is capable of mutating to escape detection by B and T memory cells

Pernicious anemia

Plague

any infectious disease of wide prevalence or excessive mortality; also refers specifically to an acute infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and characterized by high fever, skin eruptions, internal hemorrhage, and pneumonia; also called bubonic plague

Staphylococcemia

presence of Staphylococci bacteria in the blood, which is the literal meaning of the term; commonly called a staph infection, it is a frequent complication to normal healing and also the most common cause of food poisoning, skin inflammation, osteomyelitis, and nosocomial infections

Thymoma

Antibiotic

therapeutic treatment in which a substance with known toxicity to bacteria is administered; may be obtained from mold (fungus) or from other bacteria; effective only against bacteria, and many types of bacteria are capable of developing resistance, especially when antibiotics are not administered properly

Anticoagulant

Antiretroviral therapy

application of drugs to battle against a class of viruses that tend to mutate quickly, known as retroviruses, of which HIV is a member; also known as combination therapy, the drugs form a cocktail that includes nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors, all of which block HIV replication by a variety of means

Blood culture

Blood transfusion

introduction of blood, blood products, or blood substitute into a patient's circulation to restore blood volume to normal levels; the two main types of blood transfusions are autologous transfusion and homologous transfusion

Coagulation time

a timed blood test to determine the time required for a blood clot to form; one type of this test, called prothrombin time (PT) measures the time required for prothrombin, a precursor protein, to form thrombin and is often used to monitor anticlotting therapy; another type of test is partial thromboplastin time (PTT), which is used to evaluate clotting ability

Complete blood count

a common laboratory blood test that provides diagnostic information of a patient's general health; includes several more specific tests including hematocrit, hemoglobin, red blood count, and white blood count

Differential count

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate

a timed test to measure the rate at which red blood cells fall through a volume of plasma to provide information on their hemoglobin content; commonly used to evaluate nonspecific systemic inflammation

Lymphadenotomy

Lymphangiography

Pheresis

removal of a donor's blood, which is then separated into blood components, with one portion retained for use and the remainder returned to the donor; includes plasmapheresis, in which plasma is used, leukapheresis, in which white blood cells are used, and plateletpheresis, in which platelets are used

Blood

plasma

is a straw-colored, clear liquid that is 90 percent water. Besides water, plasma contains dissolved salts and minerals such as calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Microbe-fighting antibodies travel to the battlefields of disease by hitching a ride in the plasma.

Serum

Formed elements

Red blood cells (RBCs)

or erythrocytes—the most abundant cells; carry hemoglobin, a specialized protein that contains iron molecules, which enable the protein to bind to oxygen & carbon dioxide; RBCs are produced by stem cells in the red bone marrow during hematopoiesis

Platelets

or thrombocytes—the 2nd most abundant type of blood cell; platelets are actually fragments from huge cells that break apart during development in the bone marrow; perform the role of preventing fluid loss by releasing proteins in a process known as coagulation, which results in the formation of blood clots

White blood cells (WBCs)

or leukocytes—the fewest cells in a normal blood sample; perform an important role in protecting your body from infectious microorganisms and other foreign, unwanted materials; there are several types, depending on their histological features.

Basophils

Neutrophils

granulocytes because they contain tiny, pebble-like objects in their cytoplasm (their granules stain pink in a neutral stain); neutrophils, the most abundant, actively attack and "eat" bacteria and unwanted cells in a process known as phagocytosis

Lymphocytes

B cells

are produced in the bone marrow & also mature there; produce the most effective weapon in the fight against infection—tiny molecules called antibodies; antibodies attach to unwanted substances called antigens, rendering them ineffective

Precursors of T cells

Lymphatic system

closely associated with the blood and its circulation; the system also includes components that play a key role in protecting the body against infection; consists of vessels and a yellowish liquid known as lymph, which flows in a one-way direction toward the heart;

The immune response

is a mechanism in the body employed to battle infections, which are immunological diseases that result from pathogens (disease-causing agents that include viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and worm-like organisms).

The immune response

Immune response series of rx

• Unwanted pathogens are attacked by white blood cells that are phagocytic; the process occurs mainly within the lymphatic organs and often results in inflammation, which produces redness, swelling, heat, and pain at the infectious site
• If the infection is aggressive, phagocytosis cannot control the invaders alone; in this case, lymphocytes are brought to battle by chemical signals—the phagocytes produce chemical signals that result in rapid growth of lymphocyte populations; two different mechanisms of lymphocyte activation take place during an infection.